1

The Job Search

Ellen SpertusMills College

Kathryn McKinley

University of Texas at Austin

Kathryn McKinley

University of Texas at Austin

2

About KathrynLove math Computer Science

Love boys UG Research Summer

Marry Scotty 1985

Love research

Rice PhD 1992

& France Post Doc, Ecole des MinesAsst Prof UMass 1993

Tenure 1999

Assoc Prof UT Austin 01

Love boys Cooper 1995

Dylan 1998Wyatt 2001

3

The Academic Interview

• Invitation• The Talk• 30 to 60 minute One-on-One• Meals

• Goal: Convince them that you will improve their department.

4

The Invitation

• Research University– Papers in top conferences– Great letters– Spark

• Teaching College– Papers in conferences– Teaching experience/enthusiasm

• Factors out of your control– Area, slots, etc.

5

The Talk

• Goal: – Convince them you are smart and a good

teacher

• General Audience• Clearly state problem & your

contributions• Enough details to convince the one

expert• Practice, practice, practice

6

One-on-One

• Goal: – Convince them they want to work with you– Decide if you want to work with them

• Connect with their research• Read 2 to 4 of their papers that really

interest you

7

Indirect Questioning

• What’s the best thing about your dept?• What’s the worst?• How does the dept make important

decisions?• Who do you collaborate with?• Where are last year’s PhD graduates

working?• What did you do yesterday?• What do you like best about your job?• What do you like least?

8

Meals

• At most one drink • Good topics: travel, hobbies, kids• Bad topics: politics, religion

9

Miscellaneous Tips

• Take breaks in the restroom• Stay alert: sleep, exercise, caffeine

• Arranged marriage theory of interviewing: everyone should be able to behave for a day

10

About Ellen

• MIT EECS– SB, 1990– SM, 1992– PhD, 1998

• Mills College– Assistant professor, 1998-

11

About Ellen

• MIT EECS– SB, 1990– SM, 1992– PhD, 1998

• Mills College– Assistant professor, 1998-2003– Associate professor, 2003-

12

My job search (1997)

• Two-body constraint• Not sure what type of job I wanted– research university– research lab– liberal arts college– industry

13

Liberal arts colleges

• Small classes• Few graduate programs• Teaching more important than research• Broader students • Higher teaching load than research

universities

14

My job search: method

• Apply everywhere (>100 jobs)• But give special attention to top ten• Be organized– spreadsheet– map– etc.

15

Determine your values

• Do you like teaching?• Do you like research?• What is your risk tolerance?• How important is salary?• How hard do you want to work?• Do you want to have children?

16

Status

• Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?

• Whose respect do you value?– Students– Colleagues at home institution– Colleagues in research community– Your advisors'

17

Supervising students

• Research levels– undergraduate– master's– doctoral

• Student characteristics– technical background– diversity– single-mindedness

18

Teaching

• Would you prefer– few larger courses– many small courses

• Student characteristics– technical background– motivation– time to spend on major– diversity

19

Questions to ask about teaching

• What's the teaching load?• What courses would I teach?• How much control over courses would I

have?• Can I create new courses?• Would I have TA support?• What are the standards?

20

Questions to ask about tenure/research

• How many people were denied/granted tenure in recent years? Why?

• Have women with children been granted tenure?

• What hours do you work?• Are grants expected/required?

21

Questions about environment

• How do people within the department get along?

• How does this department get along with the rest of the college?

• Can I see the last department review?• What is the financial condition of the

college?• Why is this position available?

22

Negotiations

• Starting date• Teaching

– course releases– which courses

• Time until tenure evaluation• Pre-tenure sabbatical• Money

23

Money: Salary

• Amount• Being off-scale• Pay raises• Summer salary• Benefits• Subsidized housing

24

Money: funding

• Startup and ongoing– Research equipment– Travel– Students– Books and memberships– Class/lab equipment

• Intellectual property rights

25

What is most important for tenure

• Research

• Teaching

• Service

• Collegiality

26

Conclusions (1)

• Choose a job that rewards you for what you want to do.

27

Conclusions (2)

• If you never hear “no”, you're not asking for enough.

• (But know when not to apply this rule.)

28

For more information

• See “Tips for a Massive Academic Job Search” (http://spertus.com/ellen)

• Read Ms. Mentor's Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia by Emily Toth.

• Good luck!